Natural hazards · Curlew

Curlew, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Curlew comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Curlew?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Curlew to be higher than in 45% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves25%Inland flooding21%Drought18%Hail16%Tornadoes11%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Curlew faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Cold waves

25% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Hail

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Curlew flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Curlew.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Curlew isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Palo Alto County.

Disasters that hit Curlew

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Curlew itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Curlew.

Brought FEMA money into CurlewDeclared for Palo Alto County only

2024

Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$1K to the City of Curlew for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$4K to the City of Curlew for repairs

Palo Alto County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Curlew is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Curlew’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Curlew. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.